Learner Powerhttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com
Good learning, teaching, and technologyFri, 18 Aug 2017 04:59:46 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://s2.wp.com/i/buttonw-com.pngLearner Powerhttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com
Spreadsheet for Measuring Growthhttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/spreadsheet-for-measuring-growth/
https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/spreadsheet-for-measuring-growth/#respondFri, 20 Jan 2017 19:51:46 +0000http://learnerpower.wordpress.com/?p=103]]>Some of you have requested a spreadsheet that calculates your student growth between the pre-test and final exam. Here it is! This is possible because the pre-test and final exam are the exact same test in both VID1a and VID1b.

I use this data every year on my teacher evaluation, and it really makes my principal’s eyes open wide. I typically have 92% of my students achieve high growth. Georgia considers you an exemplary teacher if 90% of your students achieve high growth on an SLO or 65% of your students achieve high growth on a state assessed test. I need to be clear that Georgia only measures it’s own test scores, whereas we’re measuring Learner Power test growth. But it’s still exciting to be able to track data for your own classroom and report that data on your teacher evaluation. The Learner Power tests are professionally constructed and have been tested with thousands of students.

Here’s the spreadsheet. If you have trouble getting it to work then please share it with me and then I can help you troubleshoot it. Hooray for data!

Please let me know about bugs in unit 7. I already know about the one where links to the next lesson open up in a window-within-a-window

Full update list

Changed the tilt clips for the U7 KC and test – the old clips had too subtle of a difference between tilt and pan. The new clips are more clearly tilt and can’t be confused as pedestal by students who know the difference

Added lots of additional sample videos to unit 7 modules, especially in U7b, u7c, and u7d. This helps students get the hang of recognizing the different shots. These new samples are also using a new, more interactive kind of slide intended for active learning

Added additional quiz questions throughout unit 7 tutorials to give students a chance to practice before taking the KC and test

Added more sample videos to U7 KC and test to give students additional practice at identifying shots

Students should get better scores now on the U7 test after all of this additional reinforcement

Added “next lesson” and “previous lesson” feature to first and last page of every tutorial to make site navigation easier. This is the number one most requested feature. I still need to fix a bug where these links doesn’t work correctly

Simplified interface for a cleaner look

New interface is built on 100% HTML 5, which should make the tutorials compatible with all devices (including iOS) and with all web browsers

New interface has three aspect ratios that load dynamically based on device width and height, allowing the new lessons to work natively on mobile devices

New interface fixes the glitch that caused cell phone layout to be cut off on many lessons

New interface fixes the glitch that caused some pages to appear on top of each other on some devices and in some aspect ratios

New interface is standardized across all lesson types for greater consistency

Videos are now stored on YouTube for a dramatically lower server load, with an option to watch the original videos for schools where YouTube is blocked

YouTube videos are now close captioned for the hearing impaired, making the site handicapped accessible in accordance with section 508 for public education websites

More options for navigating within tutorials

Added left and right arrow keyboard shortcuts for faster navigation within tutorials

Standardized all tutorial screens for shorter screen time to eliminate built-in pauses on many lesson screens

Added feedback button to milestone page of every tutorial to make it easier for users to report glitches, omissions, and bugs

Standardized layout of all KC and test questions

Tweaked layout of knowledge checks and tests so that review feedback fits on the screen better

Fixed layouts on all 3 KC and test question screen layouts (for using on cell phones)

]]>https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/11/28/november-2016-site-updates/feed/0pashasouvorinEmergency Password Change!https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/emergency-password-change/
https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/emergency-password-change/#respondTue, 01 Nov 2016 15:23:04 +0000http://learnerpower.wordpress.com/?p=98]]>Please check your email for the new VID1a password. Sorry, everyone!]]>https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/emergency-password-change/feed/0pashasouvorinSite Updatehttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/08/18/site-update/
https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/08/18/site-update/#respondThu, 18 Aug 2016 01:17:43 +0000http://learnerpower.wordpress.com/?p=95]]>I ran a small update to the VID1a website, in which I renamed a few pages for clarity. In a few weeks I’ll be changing the password on all tests. I’m also preparing a SCORM version of the tests right now that will allow interested teachers to embed the tests into an LMS such as eClass or Blackboard.]]>https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/08/18/site-update/feed/0pashasouvorinUpdate on Templateshttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/08/16/update-on-templates/
https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/08/16/update-on-templates/#respondTue, 16 Aug 2016 15:25:07 +0000http://learnerpower.wordpress.com/?p=90]]>I’ve renamed all the templates for VID1a to make it easier for teachers to organize their “shared with me” folders in Google Drive. I’ve also tried to standardize the directions at the beginning of each template so that they are consistent. Hopefully this will draw students’ attention to the fact that they need to “make a copy” of the template before they can start editing it. Please ask your students to make a copy of any template they use from Google Docs.]]>https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/08/16/update-on-templates/feed/0pashasouvorin91% of Students Achieve High Growthhttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/91-of-students-achieve-high-growth/
https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/91-of-students-achieve-high-growth/#respondTue, 24 May 2016 20:33:46 +0000http://learnerpower.wordpress.com/?p=79]]>For the 2015-16 school year I had over a hundred students take the pre-test / final exam combinations in VID1a and VID1b. 91% of my students achieved high growth from their pre-test to post-test score. Georgia defines high growth as a 45% gain between the pre-test and post-test. In Georgia’s teacher performance model a teacher is rated “exemplary” of 30% of students achieve high growth. So the 91% high growth I’m seeing is pretty amazing. Of course these numbers are coming from my own test, not an official Georgia test. But the tutorials and tests in the VID1a and VID1b websites are tightly aligned with Georgia standards. Students who complete these courses should perform well on any other test that measures understanding of the Georgia AVTF curriculum. The courses also integrate video standards from SkillsUSA, Certiport, and NOCTE. This means that students should perform well on these national credentialing tests as well.]]>https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/91-of-students-achieve-high-growth/feed/0pashasouvorinVID1a and VID1b Beta Removedhttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/vid1a-and-vid1b-beta-removed/
https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/vid1a-and-vid1b-beta-removed/#respondTue, 24 May 2016 20:25:56 +0000http://learnerpower.wordpress.com/?p=74]]>I’ve removed the term “beta” from both semesters of the Video 1 website. They will remain free and available to any teachers who want to use them for the 2016-17 school year. I’m adding a “donate” button for those who wish to support this project. If usage goes way up then I don’t know what that will do to the web hosting plan. I can’t promise that I can afford high bandwidth costs for all of next year. But my goal is to keep it free for one year while I fine tune the sites. At some point in the future these materials will become a commercial product. But I won’t do that until they are fully tested and ready.]]>https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/vid1a-and-vid1b-beta-removed/feed/0pashasouvorinVideo 1b Website is Readyhttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/video-1b-website-is-ready/
https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/video-1b-website-is-ready/#respondTue, 24 May 2016 20:22:04 +0000http://learnerpower.wordpress.com/?p=66]]>The VID1b website has all the necessary tutorials and tests. It’s still got a few glitches, so please email me if you find any. There are a series of tutorials for unit 3 that will remain under construction for some – but those tutorials will be optional and won’t be included in any tests. My students piloted all the materials this semester and had no problems. The final exam works as expected, and is producing the same kind of high student growth scores as the VID1a final exam.]]>https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/video-1b-website-is-ready/feed/0pashasouvorinVID1b Unit 9 Readyhttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/vid1b-unit-9-ready/
https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/vid1b-unit-9-ready/#respondSat, 10 Oct 2015 18:40:33 +0000http://learnerpower.wordpress.com/?p=61]]>There are 23 new tutorials in the VID1b website. This unit is the pre-planning stage for the “Give us Your Best Shot” live production. The tutorials include a new rubric and a new pre-production “Light Plot” handout.]]>https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2015/10/10/vid1b-unit-9-ready/feed/0pashasouvorinVID1b Final Exam is Onlinehttps://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/vid1b-final-exam-is-online/
https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/vid1b-final-exam-is-online/#respondTue, 22 Sep 2015 23:56:24 +0000http://learnerpower.wordpress.com/?p=58]]>The final exam for VID1b is ready for beta testing. It has 76 questions. The questions come from Units 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8. The other units are all performance based and are assessed with rubrics. I’d love any feedback or suggestions.]]>https://learnerpower.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/vid1b-final-exam-is-online/feed/0pashasouvorin